West Texas Food Bank hosts grand opening for new facility today

Published 10:38 am, Friday, January 22, 2016

West Texas Food Bank's new facilities at 411 S. Pagewood in Odessa, had the grand opening Friday 01-22-16. Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

West Texas Food Bank's new facilities at 411 S. Pagewood in Odessa, had the grand opening Friday 01-22-16. Tim Fischer/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: Tim Fischer

West Texas Food Bank hosts grand opening for new facility today

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Spending nearly 30 years at its previous location, the West Texas Food Bank settled into to its new facility Dec. 28. Less than a month later, at the much larger facility, the WTFB is ready to show off its new digs to the public with an invitation to a tour officials hope will inspire.

“I think people will be surprised and amazed, especially for people who have visited our previous location,” development director Tina Corbett said. “The architecture and look and feel is invigorating. It’s light and bright, and, while it’s lovely to look at, it’s very efficient, as well. People will be excited.”

Located at 411 South Pagewood in Odessa, the ceremony is open and free to the community and will include a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. with guest speakers congressman Mike Conaway and H-E-B manager of public affairs Danny Flores and tours of the facility until 4 p.m.

“Just to be able to give back to the community means the world to us,” Flores said. “With them opening their new warehouse is monumental, as far as getting food to the families that need it in a much quicker way. It’s great they’ll be able to be more efficient.”

The new facility is 60,000 square-feet and a stark contrast in size to the 18,000 square-feet 1008 East Second St. location, where WTFB provided its services since 1989. This space is vital to their much needed resource: volunteers.

“We have the Abell Hanger Volunteer Center, which can now accommodate large groups. We used to have to turn down volunteers because we didn’t have the room. And volunteers are so important to what we do at the Food Bank,” Corbett said

With the help of donors and the community, Corbett said the staff has enjoyed moving into the new facility. Client areas are improved and more private, and a playground is available for children can safely play. The community kitchen also helps the food bank better reach the people in need.

“I truly think the community recognized that it was a definite need,” Corbett said. “And we’re very proud to show off the facility today. We think people will get excited once they see it, and hopefully want to make an impact in our community.”

Accompanying the larger facility are loftier aspirations for future programs.

“The new facility will open up so many more opportunities for the Food Bank,” Executive Director Libby Campbell said. “We will be able to offer more programming opportunities for seniors, children, families and the homeless. We are so grateful for those in the community who came together to make the building a reality. We look forward to continuing to feed the hungry in West Texas.”

With increased square footage comes increased refrigerator space. This allows the WTFB to take on more donations requiring more care. Trucks now have more dock space, as well, including a secluded area specifically for docking trucks, which allow more people to get help in a timely manner.

“In our new facility, we’ve been able to take on milk we wouldn’t have been able to take before. Last year, we delivered more than 5.3 million pounds of food, so we’re looking forward to the growth and expansion of programs to touch more people,” Corbett said. “We’re looking to expand and grow what the Food Bank does. People think we only distribute food, but we plan to expand our opportunities within education and reach out to more communities.”

One of those expansions is currently underway. The WTFB is in the process of adding a volunteer community center in Midland, with completion aimed for the summer.

“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been well worth it,” Corbett said. “We’ve been looking forward to it, and we’re ready to look toward the future.”

For more about the West Texas Food Bank, visit its website at wtxfoodbank.org.